Riotous Assemblies

Riotous Assemblies examines eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century England through the lens of popular disorder. Adrian Randall shows how conflicts and tensions in 'high' politics contributed to a potent national sense of freedom and right, giving ordinary people the confidence to respond vigorously to any threat to their customary liberties. He demonstrates how the rulers of eighteenth-century England were forced to manage disorder through a mixture of judicious theatre and periodic repression, and how economic and social transformation led to fundamental changes in the nature of popular protest.